In the office environment, it is conventional to utilize furniture which is known as "system furniture" in that large open areas are divided into smaller working areas by means of a plurality of upright panels which are horizontally serially connected. These panels are designed to permit numerous furniture accessories such as work surfaces, file bins, shelves and the like to be mounted on the panels and project outwardly from the face thereof. In the use of system furniture, it is conventional to mount a shelf or cabinet unit on the panel upwardly above a work surface or desk. To provide adequate lighting for the work surface or desk, it is also conventional to mount a small light fixture (specifically a fluorescent light fixture) directly beneath the shelf or cabinet unit so as to direct light downwardly onto the work surface. Such lighting fixture is commonly known in the industry as a "task" light.
The shelf or cabinet unit normally used for mounting a task light thereunder conventionally has a bottom wall or shelf formed from a shallow downwardly-opening channel member, whereby the bottom wall or shelf hence has front and rear edges which project downwardly and themselves constitute inwardly opening channels. The task light is normally positioned upwardly at least partially into the interior of this bottom channel and, to suspend the task light, the end plates of the light fixture housing are normally provided with downwardly projecting hooks which are integral with the housing end plates, as by being deformed therefrom. These hooks are utilized for permitting the light fixture to be supported on a pair of horizontally elongated support bars, which bars in turn are inserted into the channel member so that the ends thereof are supported within the edge channels.
Task light fixtures mounted in the manner described above have been utilized for many years, and have functioned in a generally satisfactory manner. However, in some situations, such as when the occupant of the office space is sitting outwardly away from the shelf structure at a slightly lower elevation than the light, it has been observed that the light energy emitted through the diffuser of the light fixture is oriented directly toward the occupant's eyes, and hence creates an uncomfortable or undesirable work environment. The current arrangement for mounting the task light fixture, however, does not include any means for permitting adjustment of the light fixture to eliminate this problem.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement which permits the task light fixture, as mounted beneath a shelf unit, to be selectively angularly adjusted over at least a narrow range so as to eliminate direct glare into the occupant's eyes.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved mounting arrangement for a task light fixture, as aforesaid, which still permits the light fixture to be readily and easily mounted beneath a standard shelf unit, which permits the inclination of the light fixture to be adjusted in a simple and easy manner, and which permits the overall fixture and the mounting thereof to be manufactured, assembled and installed in an efficient and economical manner.
In the improved arrangement of the present invention, the light fixture housing is provided with a mounting structure which permits tilting of the light fixture relative to the support bars. This mounting structure includes a pair of mounting brackets which are mounted on the opposite end walls of the fixture housing, which brackets are pivotally connected to the end walls adjacent one end, and are releasably secured to the end walls at the other end by a manually releasable lock structure. This latter structure includes manually engageable knobs which threadably engage studs projecting from the end walls of the fixture, which studs project through vertically elongated slots formed in the brackets. When the knobs are released, the fixture can be relatively vertically pivoted into the desired orientation, whereupon the knobs are then tightened to lock the fixture to the brackets. The brackets themselves define thereon mounts which receive therein horizontally elongated support bars, the latter being disposed so as to be positioned within the interior of the shelf channel and extend thereacross so that opposite ends thereof are supported within the edge channels.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with structures of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.